


IceBurn

by AgentLin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 13:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13905147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentLin/pseuds/AgentLin
Summary: Former CIA agents turned mercenaries, Keith and Lance, are some of the best guns for hire on the market, if you have the money. They've made the most out of their new lives, but the past soon comes back to haunt them and there are secrets to be kept from old friends. The only question is what's the solution? Confession or Murder?





	1. Chapter 1

    The moon shined bright in the night sky, illuminating the rooftops of the buildings below, while the rest of the city glowed with life all on its own. On the streets people were driving to some predetermined destination, enjoying a meal with loved ones, or settling in at home. It was just another evening in the city, and no one knew what was coming.

    Keith and Lance made their way up to the rooftop of a fifteen story building. Across the way they could see a party in progress. The people there were dressed in the finest materials and wearing the most expensive jewelry. A typical rich people party. Anyone could take a glance at the guest list and realize the kind of people who were gathered there were quiet powerful.

    The boys settled at the edge of the roof closest to the party. Keith put down a briefcase and pieced together the sniper rifle. He attached the scope and looked through it, making sure it was in good condition, before handing it over to Lance. Once Lance had the rifle he laid down, setting up the stand and getting into position.

“So our target is the blonde guy in the blue suit?” Keith made a noise of confirmation. “Kind of feel bad for the girl he’s talking to, blood doesn’t easily come off a pretty silk dress like that. Alright, I’m good, need eyes on the target please.”

    Keith nodded and got down next to Lance, looking through the scope. He saw as the crosshair moved around till it was set on the target’s head.

“Adios, muchacho.”

    Lance pulled the trigger. For a moment there was silence in the air and then it was filled with screams of terror. The party was now in panic as the guests ran for their lives, security beginning to investigate the scene. Once the shot was fired Keith broke down the rifle and packed it up, Lance taking the case.

    The two moved over to the side of the roof that had an alleyway below. Keith took the grappling hook from his side and had it attach to the edge before wrapping an arm around Lance and jumping down to the ground. It was a smooth landing and Keith retracted the rope on the grappling hook.

    Lance gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hooked their arms together, beginning to walking towards the sidewalk. At street level everything was calm, no one knew of the tragedy that had just taken place, or at least that’s how it would be seen. After walking a block Keith hailed down a cab.

“Clayton Hotel please.” Lance said.

    Keith held the door open and helped Lance inside. Once they were seated Keith took the case and the cab began to move.

“So, you two from around here?”

“Nah, just visiting.” Lance said. “The food around here is awesome, you’re lucky to live here.”

“It is a nice city. There’s this huge sand mountain by the lake, great place to see the sunrise...oh, I’m sorry that was-”

“No it’s ok. It sounds like a fun climb and I’m sure my partner here would enjoy the view.”

    A phone started ringing and Keith reached into his pocket, noticing the caller ID. He nudged Lance and handed over the phone. Lance took the phone and answered it.

“Hello...yes that’s me...yeah it’s done…”

“Business huh? You two on vacation?”

“Yeah you have the account number for payment...within the next 24 hours...yes, pleasure doing business with you.” Lance hung up and gave the phone back to Keith. “Sorry, my partner here is mute.”

“Oh, my apologies. You two must be close then, I don’t mean to be rude, but for one to be mute and the other blind, life must be...interesting.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” Lance reached over and took Keith’s hand. “So, mister…?”

“Johnson, Caleb Johnson.”

“Mister Johnson, do you have any family?”

“Yes, I have a little girl, second year of high school, she’s brilliant, top of her class.”

“That’s impressive, you must be so proud of her.”

“Very. Her birthday is coming up and my wife and I are trying to figure out what to get her.”

“I’m sure whatever you get her will be lovely.”

The cab pulled to a stop. “Here we are, thank you for the nice conversation.”

“No problem.”

    Keith got out of the cab and went around to help Lance out. He handed the man two hundred dollar bills.

“Do keep the change, have a lovely night mister Johnson.”

“Thank you very much, have a good night.”

    Keith took Lance’s hand and the two went into the hotel up to their room. The Clayton Hotel was a five star place and the boys had a penthouse suite. It wasn’t home but with the kind of money they had, they enjoyed only the best of luxuries.

    When they got to their room they both relaxed, the job was over. Keith packed away the case and Lance went over to sit on the couch, turning on the TV. He flipped through the channels until he heard a news report of an assassination that had just taken place.

“Hey Keith, get in here, we’re on the news.”

 **♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

    Nine years ago their lives were so different. Before becoming mercenaries, before the accident, they were CIA agents, and they were some of the best. The two met in the academy, starting off as rivals but slowly grew close. By the end of their second year it was clear the two worked well, so they were put on a team together. That’s when Lance met Keith’s old friend Shiro, and Keith met Lance’s friends, Hunk and Pidge, the tech experts.

    The team did have an addition, Allura, one of a kind and best at infiltration. She was a master of disguise, and Shiro fell hard. Of course the team still had their supervising agent, Coran, since they were still somewhat rookies. In no time they rose in the ranks, the team being top of the class. They all grew close as they worked together, and everything seemed good, but of course that doesn’t last.

    All it took was one mission to ruin them. It was a simple extraction out of a hostile environment. They had all the intel, at least they though they did. A bomb going off. The mission was a success, but the price they paid was high. Shiro lost his arm, debris destroyed Lance’s sight and a bullet amongst the confusion took Keith’s voice.

    They all survived, but everything was different after that. Shiro recovered well, getting a new technologically advanced prosthetic arm. Keith’s throat healed up nicely but he was no longer able to speak. As for Lance, the surgeons removed all the debris that had affected him and his eyes healed but his sight didn’t come back.

    It was no surprise that Lance was let go from the CIA, the surprise was Keith turning in a letter of resignation. Shiro tried to talk him out of it, but Keith had his mind made up. Once Lance was discharged from the hospital Keith left with him, helping him get home to his family. The accident was hard on the McClain family, but Keith promised them that he’d take care of Lance.

    It was a hard change in their lives but they made it work. The two settled into a nice apartment at the edge of a big city. Keith worked as a bouncer for a night club, while Lance mostly stayed at home, getting disability checks every month from the government. Eventually Lance learned to navigate the apartment without hitting a wall and learned where everything was. Keith used a text-to-speech app on his phone to communicate with Lance, never actually talking to other people.

    They were happy with what they had. Lance spent his days learning braille and listening to the TV with Keith. The two making an effort to learn to cook despite their lack of experience. Overtime the two learned to read each other. Keith being able to tell what Lance was feeling base on his body and Lance associating certain sounds Keith made to emotions. One could say they were closer than ever possible at that moment, but Lance never knew that Keith was looking for a miracle.

    One day Keith just told him about what he had been researching for the last few months. He had been looking into the possibility of magic fixing them both. Modern medicine had yet to advance to the point where it could fix damaged eyesight or vocal cords, but magic was a different story. After a long time of searching Keith had found someone who was willing to help them. Lance was skeptical, worried that Keith was harboring false hope, but he went along with it, curious to see how it would play out.

    Sadly, magic wasn’t the fix all solution, but it wasn’t completely useless. Instead of using magic to fix their injuries, magic bound them, bringing them even closer. The two got matching tattoos, a paw print over their hearts, with magical properties. It allowed Lance to see through Keith’s eyes, whereas Keith could speak normally again, but only Lance could hear him.

    Both cried that day. Lance could watch the sunrise and Keith could talk to his boyfriend. It almost felt like nothing ever happened, but once again, they needed to adjust to a new life style. They stuck with their old way of communication since talking out loud would make Lance sound like he was talking to himself, but they did create ways to secretly talk. Since Lance could see again, Keith taught him sign language in case they ever needed to talk quietly amongst themselves. They both also freshened up on their morse code, in case Keith ever needed to tell Lance something secretly by blinking, or they could tap out morse code on each other's skin to talk. Although, they soon realized the magic they had went beyond letting Lance see and Keith speak.

    Their senses were heightened and they found themselves to be physically stronger than before. Despite what they appeared to be on the outside it was clear they had new advantages in life. Having been with the CIA gave them a thrill in life, but ever since the accident they had to conform with a domestic life, now was their chance to get the thrill, the danger, back. They didn’t return to the CIA, instead deciding to take the more dangerous route as mercenaries. At least that was their goal.

    It took them a few years to learn to function like normal people, but they did it. Lance mastering the ability to fight blind, trusting his hearing, as well as learning to control himself through Keith’s eyes. As he put it, it was like playing a third person video game. It wasn’t long before he mastered his new vision. Keith learned to fight blind as well, since he blindfolded himself when sparing with Lance to be on even ground. They learned to function as one person and soon they were offering their services to anyone who could pay.

    From there they only got better, soon becoming one of the best mercenaries in the world. No one even knew who they really were since no one would believe the blind guy to be the assassin or his handler since the two were inseparable. Then of course the two partners added to their cover. Lance learned to play instruments like the piano and violin, as well as learning to sing. Keith did the same, although Lance was the only one who could ever enjoy his singing.

    They made a good life for themselves, a better life, with their career as mercenaries. They ended up getting a nice two story mansion isolated from the rest of the world where they were free to be themselves. No need to hide their bond, and it was really only when they were home that they were truly happy. Even then, they knew that one day their old life would find them.

 **♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

“I’m telling you, half the time its politicians.”

    Lance had just gotten off the phone with a client. They had a new target to take out. The money was good and they had their window, turns out their target would be at some gala in a few days down in Paris, France.

“How’s your french then?” Keith asked as he massaged Lance’s shoulders.

“Good, lot of time to practice, you’re better which means you can help me out.”

“True.”

Lance got up and kissed Keith. “We should get our things and get going.”

“I’ll go pack.”

“And I’ll call to get the jet ready. I want to leave in an hour.”

“Yeah, you just wanna see Paris again.”

“Haven’t been there for two months Keith, it’s been to long.”

Keith laughed. “Yeah it has.”

    Within the hour Keith was driving the two down to the airport. At that point in their career they were pretty famous as entertainers. Lance was marvelous with a piano and microphone, so he mostly had the spotlight, Keith rarely played for anyone besides Lance. By lunch time the next day they were in Paris. Lance was set to play at the gala, becoming the new main attraction of that night.

    They were set up in a nice hotel two blocks from the venue. The mission itself was easy enough, they had done similar hits before. The job itself had become rather easy over time, now it had become more of enjoying their time wherever work took them.

    The night of the gala was illuminated by a full moon. By the time they arrived the party had already begun. Lance had his signature sunglasses on, dressed in a lovely suit with a blue tie. Keith was dressed fairly the same with a red tie on. The two greeted some people who recognized them and went over to the bar to get some drinks.

“Do look around Keith, the sooner we find our target the better.”

    Lance spoke softly, knowing Keith could hear him despite the rest of the noise. Keith grabbed his drink, casually looking around the venue. He didn’t really have to focus on anything since Lance could do that.

“This place is so pretty, have we never actually been here before?”

“Guess not.” Keith blinked in morse code.

“Oh hold on, to your left a bit more...and yup, there’s the guy whose life is worth...how much again?”

“2 million, three if we can make it look like an accident.”

“Let’s see how the night goes-”

    Keith suddenly hit Lance’s side in a rapid panicked manner. Lance nearly spilled his drink but grabbed Keith’s hand to make him stop, pulling him closer so he could whisper directly into his ear.

“What the hell dude?”

“To the left of our target.”

“What about...oh...oh shit. Why is he here?”

“Security?” Keith shrugged.

“Well...this is a lot of money for a hit on a politician, I just never thought he’d get CIA security.”

“I never thought we’d see Shiro again.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Keith, Lance, guys I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Wait...I know that voice, Shiro, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me Lance, it’s so good to see you.”

Lance laughed. “I can’t say the same, but it’s nice to hear you again Shiro.”

“Um, Lance…”

“What?” Keith grabbed Lance’s shoulders and turned him so he’d be facing Shiro. “Ah, yeah, sorry about that, thank you Keith I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“It seems like you two are doing well.”

“Yeah of course.” 

    Keith smiled and nodded grabbing Lance’s hand. He interlaced their fingers, gently tapping on his skin to communicate with him since for the time being blinking wouldn’t work.

“What are you guys even doing here?” 

“Wow, for the record, he’s never actually been to one of your shows.” Keith tapped to Lance.

“How do you know that?” Lance tapped back before answering Shiro. “Haven’t you heard? I’ve made myself more exotic by learning to play the piano amongst other instruments.”

“I look at the crowds and check attendance Lance, I’ve never seen Shiro.”

“Really? You never seemed like the kind of guy with patience to learn to play something like the piano.” Shiro said. “Impressive, so I guess you’re performing then?”

“We’ll talk about this later.” Lance tapped. “Yes, I will be performing tonight, but the real question is why are you here? Last time I checked you were still CIA.”

“I am, and for reasons I’m sure you understand I can’t tell you why I’m here.”

“No need, I was CIA remember. This is a very social event and you being out in the open probably means you’re protecting someone. Whoever they are, they must be important and well known or else you’d probably get them to skip such an event since it seems to be a threat to their life. And with you here taking a moment to yourself there must be two other agents around here somewhere looking after your person in danger.”

“Well I didn’t tell you so I-”

“Are you still with the others? Our old team?”

“Yes, why would-”

“So these two other agents here with you are our replacements?”

“Lance-”

“It’s okay, I mean as long as the old team is still together.”

Shiro seemed a bit uncomfortable. “Yeah of course, I never really saw them as replacements, I mean it’s only been like what? Five years?”

“Nine actually, time flies when you can’t actually see a clock.” Keith tapped his wrist. “Speaking of time Keith is telling me here that I should be going to get ready. It was nice to...talk with you again Shiro.”

“Same, can’t wait to see your show. Nice seeing you both.”

Keith smiled and walked away with Lance, who was quick to grab his drink. Since Lance was the entertainment for the night he had a green room so he could freshen up before his show. Lance downed his drink when he stepped into the room, clearly upset. He plopped down on the couch, noticing that Keith was looking in the mirror, he started signing.

“You shouldn’t have gone there, and spitting all that out could make Shiro suspicious.”

Lance rolled his head and signed back. “No one ever suspects the blind guy, besides, Shiro saw me acting clumsy.”

“He is still CIA, he might figure it out.” He paused for a moment. “Why did you bring up the team?”

“I wanted to know if we were replaced.”

“But why?”

“Because…” Lance got up and stood next to Keith. “We were told time and time again that we were the best, that we were going places. They made us believe we were important, buttered us up so that when they sent us to our death we wouldn’t hesitate. Except we didn’t die, so we have to live with the pain. We were expendable to them, and now we’ve been replaced.”

Keith pulled Lance in for a hug. He could feel his pain, how it only grew with each word he said. They stopped talking about their past with the CIA once they started over as mercenaries.The memories were painful and Keith didn’t like making Lance upset.

“You have a show.” Keith tapped on his back. “Focus on that.”

“Have I told you I love you today.” Lance said with a grin before pulling Keith in for a kiss. 

He pulled back with a happy sigh, gently touching Keith’s face. Over the years he had mapped out Keith’s face, knowing what part he was touching instantly. He looked over at the mirror, gazing deeply into Keith’s eyes to help him relax.

“I want that three million.” He signed

“Consider it done.” Keith signed back. “I’ll deal with all the details, you focus on your show.”

“Will do.”

When the time came Keith helped Lance onto the stage. A piano was at the center, Keith helping Lance into his seat. Lance ran his hands across the keys to get a feel for where each was. Keith gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before going off stage. A quick look into the crowd and Keith could see their target and Shiro watching, this was his chance.

The venue was in a hotel and he knew the target was staying in a room a few floors above them. He only knew that Shiro was one of three people watching his target and that the protection also meant the guy’s room was under surveillance and what not. He already had his plan in mind, all he needed to do was get out of the venue unnoticed.

Once Keith snuck his way out he went to the kitchen. The kill had to look accidental in order to get the three million and lucky for them, their target had some allergy to exploit. The best way to take advantage of that is via food or anything else consumable. A politician would surely enjoy some tasty snack after attending such a prestigious event. He made his way to the back of the kitchen, putting in a order of room service for the target, something sweet. The contents of the order wouldn’t appear dangerous to the target, but Keith was going to make sure the dessert would be deadly.

He stayed in the kitchen, no one actually bothering him, as the order he placed was made. When it was finished he made his way over to the dish, adding a little extra to it. As he was doing that he suddenly heard a familiar voice. He slowly peaked behind him and saw Allura talking to one of the chefs. He quickly finished up and made his way out of the kitchen undetected. Once he was safe he checked his watch, at that point Lance was a third of the way through his performance.

He stayed close to the kitchen, wanting to see what would happen next. As he figure Allura had come down to check in on the order that he made so she could personally make sure it was safe and take it up to the room. Keith was a professional so Allura wouldn’t find anything wrong, no one would, not even an autopsy would rule his death as homicide. Once that was done he made his way back into the gala and behind the stage, watching Lance.

Lance smiled when he Keith returned back stage. He didn’t need any confirmation as to whether the mission was successful, he saw it all happen. At the end of the show Lance stood and took a bow, enjoying the sound of the applause. Keith came up to help take him back stage. On other occasions the two might have just left, but they decided to stick around for a while longer and mingle with the audience a bit.

Many people came to congratulate Lance on his performance, finding it amazing how well he played. He played along, thanking everyone for their nice words. Keith had gotten him another drink, quietly standing behind his man. What caught his attention was when two men walked up, one seemed rather familiar.

“Congratulations Mr. McClain, it was quiet a performance.”

“Thank you very much. It’s always an honor to play for such a large crowd.”

“It must have taken years to get that good.”

“To play an instrument, it takes time, and one never truly stops learning. Pardon my rudeness, but your voice sounds familiar.”

“Does it? I don’t think we’ve ever formally met. Shiro said it would be alright to introduce ourselves.”

“Shiro?” Lance felt Keith grab his hand. “You know Shiro?”

“Yes. My name is Matt Holt, I’m-”

“Pidge’s brother…”

“Yes, glad you remember, my partner here is Lotor.”

“A pleasure to meet you both. I’ve heard quiet a lot about both of you. I am truly sorry for the tragedy that befell you both.”

“You two re-”

Keith pulled Lance in for a kiss all of a sudden, furiously tapping his side, telling him that it was time to leave. The two others looked away when the kiss took place, feeling that the situation got awkward. Lance got the message and pulled away from Keith.

“Sorry, he does that to get my attention sometimes. It seems that the two of us must get going. We have a long trip home that awaits us in the morning. It was a pleasure to meet you both.”

Lance shook hands with both of them, as did Keith, before they made their way out of the party. Keith could tell how uneasy Lance felt over what had just happened. They walked back to their room in silence, ignoring the gathering off police outside. When they got to the hotel room Lance went off.

“Those two replaced us!”

Keith looked down at his hands and began signing. “We knew the team would either be separated or they’d find two other operatives.”

“Yeah, didn’t think they’d actually introduce themselves!”

“Please calm down Lance. So what? We got each other and three million tonight. It doesn’t matter that we were replaced.”

“I know...it shouldn’t matter...but it still hurts.” Lance reached up to touch his face. “It always hurts.”

Keith pulled him into a hug, letting Lance’s tears flow. The past hurt both of them, but most of the time Keith kept strong for Lance. They had each other, and so much more, such things shouldn’t matter, but it now felt like their past was coming to haunt them. No matter what happened, they’d take care of it.


	3. Chapter 3

Lance laid on his beach towel, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his skin. He had a show later that night and decided to enjoy the day. There was a lot to do in the city, but Lance ultimately dragged Keith to the beach. It was dangerous for him to get into the water alone, but Keith went with to make sure nothing happened.

Now Lance was getting some sun, Keith having gone off to go for a swim. He prefered swimming at his home pool, it also worried Keith less. After what felt like a few hours he felt some shade fall over him, it wasn’t hard to guess that someone was there.

“You’re in my sun.”

His leg was kicked and he laughed, hearing the footsteps walk around him. He knew it was Keith since when he opened his eyes he saw his own beach body. He sat up, seeing that Keith was grabbing a water bottle from the cooler.

“Hand me one please.”

He felt the cold bottle in his grasp moments later. Keith sat next to him, his hair wet and mostly stuck to his face. Lance enjoyed the ocean view.

“What time is it?”

Keith looks at his watch, it was half past noon.

“We should probably get back to the hotel. I need to shower and get dressed for tonight. We shouldn’t have agreed to that before party, but too late now.”

Lance stood up and did his best to help Keith pack up all the stuff. They held hands and went back to car, returning to the hotel room. They showered together then Keith helped Lance get dressed for his show.

“We really need to do another pair show.”

Keith smiled and signed at the mirror.

“You do better on your own.”

“But I like having you on stage with me.”

“Perhaps next time.”

**♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

Keith drove to the theater where Lance would be performing, doing his best to make sure they weren’t spotted. The place was set up for a small preshow gathering. Just some drinks and talking with the VIP’s of the night. Those kind of people always seem to be full of themselves, but money was good. 

After two hours of pointless chatter Lance was ushered backstage to get ready. Despite the calm morning Lance knew something was off. Keith had been rather stiff at the preshow gathering, his eyes darting around every now and then. Lance was curious but decided to ask about it after the show.

When it came time for the show Keith led Lance onto the stage, helping him prepare. It wasn’t his home piano so he needed a few minutes. Keith guided his hands over the keys, letting him figure out where each was and how much room he had. It was much easier for him since he had Keith. Once he was good the show began.

As always Keith watched him from backstage, admiring him. Although, Lance noticed that he was doing his best to not look at the crowd, which made him rather suspicious. Keith always did that so Lance could see those who were watching him, see their faces in awe, but not this time. He ignored it, once again deciding to bring it up after the show.

When the show ended Lance stood up and bowed, Keith coming over to take him backstage, careful to avoid looking at the audience. The people backstage congratulated him and he stuck around for a moment but really wanted to get to the green. Once he was and the door was locked he grabbed Keith’s tie and yanked him towards the mirror for a conversation.

“What is up with you?!”

“What are you talking about? Nothing is up with me Lance!”

“Then why are you acting so weird! You usually make sure to let me see my audience!”

“Oh, I must have forgotten or something.” Keith looks away for a moment. “We should go home.”

Lance didn’t say anything. He sat down and huffed, pinching his nose. Keith leaned against the dresser, eyes still on the mirror.

“Dude, what’s up?” Lance signed. “I know something is wrong.”

“I’m fine.”

“Keith I understand if you kept shit from me so I won’t be worried for the show, well guess what, show’s over, now spill.”

Keith sighs. “Last night I went over the list of people who bought tickets.”

“Of course you did, I was asleep and I didn’t see anything. So, someone dangerous in the crowd? Are we being targeted?”

“No… Shiro was on the list…”

“What?” Lance jumped up. “You mean he was here!”

“Yes, and not just that… he bought seven tickets.”

“Seven? He… he brought the whole team didn’t he.”

“Sounds like it.”

There was a knock at the door and both boys froze. Lance sat down, grabbing the water on the table and Keith took a breath. He fixed his tie before opening the door to see one of the backstage workers there.

“Hello, sorry to bother you, but there’s this guy, he’s a police guy and says he needs to speak with you. I told him no one was allowed backstage but he insisted so I told him I’d come tell you and see what you said. I’m so sorry to bother you.”

“Not at all.”

Keith opened the door so Lance could be seen while he spoke.

“A cop, well, we can’t refuse can we, you can bring him over.”

“Right away.”

The person headed off and Keith shut the door, going to Lance.

“We both know that cop person is Shiro, flashing around his badge just to talk to us. You should have said no!”

“Keith we can’t just avoid him. Let’s just see what he wants then maybe he’ll leave us alone after this.”

“Okay.”

After a moment there was another knock and Keith answered the door. He welcomed Shiro into the room, Lance sitting on the couch with a book in his hand. Keith went over and sat down next to him.

“So, flashing around your badge, couldn’t afford VIP?” 

Shiro laughs and rubs his neck. “It was sold out when I got around to buying tickets.”

“Oh, well did you enjoy the show?”

“It was lovely. You were amazing, everyone loved it too.”

“Everyone?”

“I brought the rest of the team too.”

“Wow, glad everyone could see my performance. It’s actually surprising, I figured you guys are always busy.”

“I thought a break would be good, and you had a show too, so I figured I owed you one.”

“Owed me? You don’t owe me anything man, but it’s nice to hear your voice.”

“It’s nice to see you both. So, I know this is sudden, but what would you say to going out to dinner with the team? Tomorrow night of course, you must be exhausted right now.”

“Dinner? With the team? I…”

“I understand if you can’t. You must be busy and all.”

“No, dinner sounds fun.” Keith turned to Lance. “It will give us a chance to catch up.”

“Really? Awesome! Um,” Shiro rummages in his pockets and hands Keith a card. “It has my number on it, you can call me tomorrow and I can give you the address.”

“Great. I can’t wait.”

“Well then, I should probably go, see you tomorrow.”

Lance waived, hearing Shiro leave. Keith added the number to his phone then threw the card away. He glared back at Lance who had picked up the book again.

“I know you’re glaring Keith.”

“Why did you say yes?! You had the chance to say no!”

Lance got up and took Keith’s hands, tapping. “I know, I sort of blurted it out. I don’t think he’s gonna let up unless we hang out with him. It’s been years, he’s going to want to talk.”

“Fine, just dinner tomorrow night, and that’s it okay. It’s not good for either of us to hang around him and the others.”

“I know, if either of us needs to cut it short tomorrow then we will, no questions between us, but let’s at least try.”

“I will.”

“Good.” 

Lance leaned in and kissed Keith, then rested his head on his shoulder. He did want to go home but he knew that if he didn’t deal with Shiro it would only come back to haunt them. Better to get it out of the way now and move on. It was time to let go of the past.

**♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

Lance was very nervous for dinner. He was for it last night but after some time to think he changed his mind. It wasn’t just dinner with Shiro but his entire team, they’re old team. Keith took his place and assured him everything would be fine, the dinner was more of a courtesy. 

After lunch Lance called Shiro, doing his best to keep the conversation short. They would be at a pretty fancy place, so they needed to dress for the occasion. Keith sort of hated dressing that way but he did it anyway, knowing it was necessary.

The sun had almost set when the two arrived at the location. The reservation was under Shiro’s name and the two were lead to a huge round table. The others were already there, and they stood to greet them.

“Lance, I’m so glad you can make it!” Allura spoke with joy. “It’s been so long.”

“I agree.” Lance said. “It nice to be in your presence again.”

Hunk pulled up Lance’s chair so he could sit, Keith sitting next to him. 

“You guys remember my brother Matt?”

“Yup.”

“Then you need to meet our newest member.” Coran said.

“Lotor. I know, he and Matt greeted us back in Paris. How did that go by the way?”

“Well.” Lotor said. “It went off without an issue, we’re just that good.”

Keith placed his hand on Lance’s leg, tapping is gently and making sure no one else noticed.

“You know they’re lying, we killed their target.”

Lance grabbed Keith’s hand. “Like they can just talk about this, even then why would they admit it?” Lance smiled. “That’s great. Good to see my old team’s reputation remains intact.”

“Yep.” Shiro said. “We should order.” 

They looked at the menu, Pidge leaning over to Lance and reading him the menu. They were friends after all and she knew what he liked. Keith sat quietly, looking over the menu, the rest chatting away.

That was how the night went. Everyone was talking, Lance even reminiscing about the past. All there old times as a team, the ridiculous things that happened on the training floor, their first missions. It was nice to hear it all, but Keith felt a bit left out. 

He couldn’t talk, couldn’t take part in reliving memories. But he smiled and nodded, he knew that Lance was somewhat happy. Socializing with people he didn’t really despise. Keith didn’t want to ruin that, so he just kept to himself.

Eventually Lance noticed, felt, Keith’s unhappiness. He didn’t do much at first but it soon became clear that the dinner was causing it, and it only got worse. Lance asked for the time and declared it was late and the two should get going, even if it meant skipping dessert. Keith didn’t object, helping Lance into his coat and leading him out.

The drive back to the hotel was quiet. At that point both knew something was up but neither wanted to speak up first. They had previously agreed that they’d head home after the dinner, all their bags were packed and in the back of the car. When they got to the airport Keith helped Lance on board then putting their bags away.

The flight home was quiet too, Keith deciding to take a nap. Lance knew the planes layout so it wasn’t an issue to navigate but that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty. Whatever was upsetting Keith, her knew he was part of the issue. They did tend to save arguments for when their home, signing and tapping wasn’t the best form of communication when they needed to yell.

**♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

When they got home the silence was quickly cut short. The bags didn’t even hit the floor before before Lance was talking.

“Keith, what’s up. You were upset at dinner and the whole trip was… awful.”   
“Lance-”

Keith’s phone vibrated and he sighed, putting the bags down and looking at it. There was a new voicemail from Shiro. He played it.

_ “Hey, I know this might be sudden, but I figured I’d try anyway. My team was on break but now we got a mission, we need to apprehend this guy for questioning about something, but they’re not so easy to find. Our intel states he’ll be having some big party in New York City in three weeks. You’re apparently the entertainment for the night. There’s no easy way to get into the party, it’s by invite only, but you technically have one. I was wondering if you’d let us tag along with you and get in. I understand if you don’t want to be involved with our work, it could put you in danger, but I would like to hear from you guys. It might feel like old times.” _

Keith growled and immediately deleted the message. He glared at Lance.

“No.”

“What? Why? Do we have a hit at that party?”

“No.”

“Then why not? You heard him, like old times, besides all we’re doing is getting them through the door. Nothing major that will reveal our talents to them.”

“Do you…” Keith took a breath. “Do you miss it? Being a secret agent and all?”

Lance went quiet and looked away. He stepped back and dropped himself onto a chair.

“Of course I miss it! I didn’t quit like you, I was thrown out!”

“We were thrown under the bus! Our whole fucken team! And we paid the price!”

“ _ We?  _ I’m the one who lost my fucken eyes, Keith! Shiro lost an arm which was easily replaced and all you lost was the ability to talk!”

“And how do you think I felt at that stupid dinner! I didn’t say shit to anybody.”

“You talked to me.”

“Via morse code! And to you only! I didn’t chat it up with the others to talk about the old days and how my life has been. You were all so caught up in the past I don’t think anyone acknowledged that I was even fucken there!”

“That’s… is that why you were upset?”

“No! No, I could care less of catching up with those I left behind and as you say our replacements. No I got upset that I was useless to you.” Keith looked at the floor. “The others helped you better than I could, they let you have… a rather endless conversation, you could pretend everything was normal. Whereas whenever your with me outside of home it’s always morse code or sign language. You were always so talkative back then… and because of me… you’re not anymore…”

“Keith… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to compare pain. We’re still different people and the worst things that happens to one of us is not the same for the other.” Lance got up and walked over to hug Keith. “I want you to know that I’m happy here with you, no matter what you think. Your voice is for me and me alone, and don’t worry so much. You’re the only person I ever really want to talk with, everyone else seems so plain in comparison.”

“You were quiet happy at that dinner though.”

“Well, it was fun to talk about old missions but it’s not like I can tell them we decided to have sex in the back of a government car when we were supposed to be on lookout duty in Madrid that one time.”

Keith laughs and presses his head against Lance’s shoulder. The two swaying side to side.

“We destroyed the car to hide the evidence, said it was the enemies fault.”

“You started it, you don’t just talk dirty like that and expect me to not get a boner.”

“Or that one time we were scouting a house and you went skinny dipping in the pool.”

“You joined me.”

“Once I knew the target was secure.” Keith sighed. “You really want to help those guys sneak into a party to catch some bad guy?”

“Wouldn’t hurt for them to owe us a favor. Besides, it’ll give us a chance to have access to CIA intel again.”

“You worried about us getting caught?”

“Not really, who would ever suspect my blind ass, but I wanna know what intel they got on us, or if we even exist in their system.”

“I see your point. Alright then, you can leave Shiro a message, after you help me warm up the bed.”

“Oh… that might take hours.”

“Then we better get started.”


	4. Chapter 4

“So, tell, you know who the CIA is looking for at the party?”

    Lance and Keith were sitting out by the beach of their home. They were enjoying some lemonade under the sun.

“No. The guest list has been set long before you were asked to play. A lot of relatively bad people will be in attendance, CIA could be after any of them.”

“Damn, I had half a mind to mess them up.”

“Well, besides getting into the CIA system, there is something we could do.”

“You have my interest.”

“One of the party guests, Roman Bushner, he’s the one who hired us to do that job in Paris, back when we first saw Shiro.”

“So we can tie up some loose ends. I’m down, especially with the challenge of getting this done while the CIA is around.”

“I’m sure I can convince Shiro to let me tag around. That way you can keep an eye on what’s going on.”

“You expect me to do this solo?”

“Well, we got time to figure it out.”

“Solo… that would certainly be fun, I’d have to be very dramatic though.”

“You gonna put on a show?”

“It’d make for a good memory.”

“If that’s how we’re going to do this, you’re going to have to memorize the layout of the party venue and security.”

“You got all that intel?”

“You know me, always gathering intel.”

“You have a knack for it. Why were you ever a field agent?”

“Someone had to look after your ass.”

    They laughed and Keith pulled Lance in for a kiss. Since they were in agreement of what they were going to do they needed to plan. Keith actually had something special for Lance. Whenever they went out he wore glasses, and Keith some custom made with a small camera at the front. It was a pair, his being the receiving end, his lense could display the camera footage and since he’d be seeing it, Lance would see it.

    It was a sly little trick that provided the illusion of Lance seeing with his own eyes. For most cases involving a show, it was Keith who did the actual dirty work. Lance didn’t mind much, but he wanted to get more involved. This was Keith’s way of doing so, and it seemed like Lance would get his chance at having fun at the next show.

 **♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

With the extra people around Lance and Keith came with a van. Pidge would be staying in the van, monitoring the place, with Hunk. The rest would be among the party guests, going after whoever their mission was. Lance and Keith promised to stay out of it but a little snooping wouldn’t hurt.

    The party started off with a bang, another band playing. Lance was more of the middle act. It was the usual, drinks and talking, all you can eat. Lance and Keith stuck together, being polite with guests. The CIA agents around weren’t seen at the beginning, probably scooping the place out. Once they did appear they blended well with the crowd.

    When it was time for Lance’s performance Keith helped him get prepared and then on stage. While he played Keith decided to go outside to get some air and visited Pidge. She was happy to see him, although told him she couldn’t tell him about the mission. He wasn’t interested in what she had to say but used the time to plant a little bug in the van. It would remotely get him into the system and from there he could handle the rest.

    After that he went inside to find Shiro, he was hanging around the back, by the bar. He smiled and stuck with him, watching Lance on stage. Shiro was rather quiet but then went out to get some air, Keith followed, using his text-to-speech device.

“Any luck?”

Shiro laughed. “No, but I can’t really talk about this.”

“I know, just feel nostalgic with you around.”

“You didn’t have to retire.”

“I didn’t want to leave Lance. He needed me, and I was going to be there for him.”

“Your love… everyone admires it.” Shiro went quiet for a moment. “We’re looking to get someone who we believe has intel.”

“Anymore vague.”

“You know I can’t disclose much. Let’s just say this guy might help us find someone else we are after.”

“Okay. Can I ask you something.”

“About what?”

“Dinner, Lance asked about what happened in Paris. Lotor said it was a success, but I don’t believe it.”

“Still got that instinct I see.”

“I lost my voice not my skills.”

“Well they’re still sharp. Our mission… it seemed like a success, but in the end we failed. It was so sudden too. He shouldn’t have been at that party. We told him, but he insisted, and ended up dead.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be repeating what I said.”

“Won’t ever type what I’ve heard.”

Shiro laughed again. “We should hang out more often.”

“We should.”

    The two returned back inside, Shiro went off and Keith kept to himself. Lance was still playing but he focused on the next part, Roman. Keith looked around for him and once he spotted him kept an eye on him. Lance would be finished soon enough and the agents seemed to be busy looking for someone else.

    Once the show finished Keith helped him off stage and to the back room. He went over their plan, talking about the location and how it would go down. The plan was mostly all Lance, he came up with every little detail, and how to play it out. So once he was good the real fun would begin.

    The two went out back onto the floor, socializing, slowly making their way over to Roman. Lance introduced himself, being kind and playful with the man. It went as both predicted, Roman wanted to speak with Lance in private. They joked around for a bit but eventually agreed. Keith entrusted Roman with Lance, letting the two go off.

    Lance was on his own from there. They went to one of the rooms upstairs, it was mostly quiet, a bit of music from below could be heard. Keith had gone off to be alone somewhere, using the glasses so Lance wasn’t truly blind up there. They had tested it out before, so Lance was more than ready to have fun.

“May I ask you something?”

“Depends on the question.” Lance laughed.

“What happened to your eyes? I can’t imagine something as beautiful as you being injured.”

“To put it simply, wrong place, wrong time kind of deal. I’m happy to be alive.”

“Your talent is incredible, regardless of your condition.”

“I think it just makes me all the more special.”

    Roman poured Lance a drink and stayed close to him.

“How long did it take you to get used to the blindness?”

“Honestly, about two years. I hated going out.”

“I can imagine. Let me see your eyes.”

“Not much to see.”

“Prove it.”

    He reached up to grab Lance’s glasses but was stopped. Lance smiled at him, holding his arms, gloves on.

“That’s rather rude.”

    Lance headbutted him and then kicked him away. He grabbed Roman’s drink and broke it, using it as a weapon.

“What the hell!”

“Sorry, gotta tie up some things.”

“What?”   

    Lance jabbed the glass into his side, then pulled out a knife and ran it across his throat. Roman tried to fight back but Lance was quick on his feet, avoiding any hits. While Roman struggled to comprehend what happened, Lance looked around for something to throw out the window. After all, as the story went, someone else killed Roman. He found a small chest in the room, intended to for jewelry. He chuckled and threw it out the window.

    He looked back at Roman who was holding his throat and trying to crawl towards the door. Lance stopped him and dragged him back. He flipped him over and got him to stand up, he shoved him against a wall and moved his hand, letting blood get all over his clothes. He stepped back, going back over to the bar.

    He took off the gloves he had put on before entering the room. He cleaned blood off his pocket knife and put it away, along with the gloves. He sighed and took a small sip of his drink before dropping it to the floor. He stumbled back, rubbing blood into his clothes, as if he had been shocked by what happened. He hit a couch and fell backwards, crawling until he hit a wall.

    Footsteps were heard running down the hall. The door burst open and some screams were heard. He heard someone approach him. He was shaking, hiding his face, seeming afraid of whoever was approaching him.

“Lance, it’s me, Allura.”

“Allura? What… what happened… there’s…” He touched his blood stained shirt. “Please tell me this isn’t blood…”

“Lance… I’m so sorry…”

“Where’s Keith…”

“I don’t-”

“I’m here Lance.” Keith typed as he rushed over to Lance. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No… no I don’t think so…”

    Keith pulled Lance close and hugged him. Allura got up to give them some space and talk to the others who were peeking into the room. While they were alone Keith took the knife and gloves from Lance. Lance was chuckling making Keith smile, he didn't like to speak outside the house but he just had to whisper to Lance.

“Stop that… before someone notices.” 

“Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve had fun.”


	5. Chapter 5

The police arrived but Shiro was still in charge of the investigation. All other guests had been cleared out of the area. Lance was sitting on the couch, drink in one hand, grabbing Keith with the other.

“What happened here, Lance?” Shiro asked.

“Um… I just came over here to talk in private… then I heard some other footsteps… then… then…” Keith squeezed Lance’s hand. “I heard some struggle but I didn’t know what was happening, then I felt something splash on me, it was warm.”

“Do you have any idea who would do this? You’re our only witness.” Lotor said.

“Witness implies I saw something, newsflash, I can’t see shit!”

“Calm down, Lance.”

“Calm? I’m… I can’t help here okay. I don’t know what happened, I have no idea what this room looks like! All I know is that I’m covered in blood and someone is dead.”

“Lance-”

“Please stop.” Keith typed. “I think it’s time we leave, he can’t help with this investigation, we’re sorry.”

Keith helped Lance up and headed out. He made his way to the car getting Lance inside. Shiro had followed them out, stopping Keith before he got in the car.

“Sorry if I was… this whole thing is a mess.”

Keith sighed and typed. “I understand but being in this situation is not helpful. We left this shit behind and if being around you is going to be like this I’m going to ask you not to contact us for these things again.”

Shiro nodded. “Okay, take care of him okay.”

“I will.”

They hugged then Keith got into the car driving off. Lance burst out laughing. Keith tried to keep calm but he started chuckling.

“We really should stop now before we get caught.”

“Doubt it.” Lance said. “Did you get access to the CIA database?”

“Yep. I’ll go through that stuff later.”

“Cool. I wonder what they have on us.”

“Probably nothing. So, I guess you had fun.”

“Yeah. I should look into being an actor.”

“Legit actor or just to have you play the piano in films.”

“Both sound good.”

“It would certainly make you more popular.”

“Us, make us more popular, I’d always need you on set.”

“You’re the star.”

“Wouldn’t be without you.”

“True, so, do you want to go clean up or straight home.”

“Honestly, straight home, I’ll grab some clothes and clean up a bit on the flight home.”

“Okay then.”

Keith drove to the airport, noticing some missed calls on his phone from Shiro. He ignored them, getting on the plane and settling in. He was alone at the beginning, while Lance cleaned up, and listened to the voicemails. They were all mostly Shiro apologizing for how he acted, but also saying that despite what happened he wanted to keep in touch. They still had many years to catch up on.

**♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

When they got home both just knocked out. It was a rather long flight back and sleeping on a plane could never be as good as their bed. For the next few weeks they stayed home, nothing to do besides keep each other company. It was calm, but things soon took a turn for the worse.

Lance jumped awake in the middle of the night, having heard a loud crash. He noticed his vision was blurry, Keith was in tears. He rushed over, stumbling a bit, still a bit tired. He made his way over to the library, he heard the sobs.

“Keith? Keith are you okay, what happened? You’re not hurt are you?”

“Lance… I…”

“What’s wrong?”

“We… I’ve been going through the CIA databases. They have very little information on us, no real idea who we are.”

“But why are you upset?”

“I got curious. I looked over our last mission report… it didn’t feel right, things were messed up. I looked into it, hacking and going deeper. Information was redacted, makes sense for the mission but… I kept looking…”

“What did you find?”

“We… we were set up!”

“What do you mean we were set up?”

**♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

**_9 Years Ago_ **

“Pidge, what’s going on?”

The team had gathered in their conference room. Pidge usually told them about missions since she got the files first. Coran of course would look them over and approve them for the team. Despite their growing success Coran knew them best and knew what they could handle.

“There was a big summit in Europe, many political figures from around the world were gathered there so it was no doubt there would be danger. All necessary precautions were taken but they were all in vain.”

“How many casualties?” Shiro asked.

“There were multiple explosions and this only happened five hours ago, the final count has yet to be  determined. Although the list will include civilians.”

“So then why are we here?” Keith asked. “Are we supposed to help with clean up.”

“No. The explosion was a cover for the attackers. They took three of the politicians hostage. They left a ransom note.”

“Of course they did.” Lance commented. “How much?”

“That’s irrelevant. We had a feeling something like this would happen so we took some extra precautions. One of the hostages is from America, they were given a tracker. It wasn’t discovered so we know where their being held. This is a rescue mission.”

Pidge brought up satellite pictures of the location they would be heading to. Shiro began to plot out the mission, how they would get in and get out.

“Like always me and Hunk will be your tech support from base.” Pidge said.

“You’ll be able to see us and give us direction if needed?”

“Yeah.” Hunk added. “We’ll be your eyes in the sky.”

“Well the place we’re going to is pretty isolated, so we’ll need a helicopter for extraction.” Shiro said. “Keith, Lance, and I need to infiltrate which leaves chopper duty to Allura. You need to be on standby and wait for us to give you the all clear to land at our randevu point to pick up the hostages. You get them out first then once they’re safe come back for us.”   
“I’ll feel horrible for leaving you, why not get bigger chopper.”

“No, the smaller the easier it will be for you to maneuver in case you get attacked.”

“Understood.”

“Okay, everyone knows what they’ll be doing so prepare. Allura you’ll drop us off near our location then wait for my signal. I’ll see you at the hangar in fifteen.”

The group didn’t usually do rescue missions but there wasn’t time to waste and they were the closest available unit that could take on the mission. They had been together for a few years now so within ten minutes the team was in the air heading to their destination. They reached the drop off location, the three running some quick equipment checks then moved in.

The placed seemed to be an old factory of some sort. A warehouse converted into a work area and a small five story building nearby. Their intel said the hostages were in the building, they weren’t sure what floor. Keith was set to check the first floor and Shiro the third, from there, if they had no luck, they’d both go up to the next floor. Lance was to go all they way to the fifth floor, if the hostages were found fast they would all meet up with them.

The place was actually rather quiet. They didn’t come across anymore than a handful of guards and the hostages only had five men watching them. The mission was easy, so clearly the attack was more of an amateur job that got lucky. The hostages were scared but Shiro assured them they were safe and going to be alright.

There was some men who tried to stop them but they were easily dealt with. Once the group was outside the building Allura was called in, the boys making sure everything was clear. The rescue went of without any issue. Lance was glad, but both Shiro and Keith were suspicious, the mission felt too easy.

“Come on Keith smile, we’ll be home sooner than expected.”

“I know, I know… this just feels wrong.”

“What do you mean.”

“These guys kidnapped powerful people, you’d think they’d have better protection on them.”

“Amateurs. They probably figured they’d get the money asap, instead of someone actually trying to rescue the hostages.”

“Yeah… yeah maybe.”

“Allura.” Shiro said over the coms. “Can you hear me? Guys, can either of you contact Allura?”

All coms had static, they couldn’t even hear each other. Before they could ponder on the situation bullets went flying past their heads.They took cover, noticing a rather big group of people approaching them.

“Had to jinx it didn’t you Lance!” Keith shouted form cover.

“I did not!”

“Both of you focus!” Shiro yelled. “We’re sitting ducks out here!”

“I think we can get back into the building. I can see a path.” 

“Lead the way then, we’ll cover you.”

Lance made his way back to the building, the others following when they had the chance. The three got inside, taking a moment.

“Should we split up?” Keith asked. “They’ll probably split up too and we can pick them off.”

“No, we need to stay close, we’ll split up now and meet up where the hostages were kept.” Shiro said. “Go.”

The three split up making their way up. A few men were dealt with but they got back together. They found a place of cover and started picking off their enemies one by one.

“What even was this building?” Lance said. “There are just a bunch of boxes around.” 

“Maybe the place was being renovated.” Keith said. “But please focus.”

“I’m just saying, the boxes are weird.”

“Lance-”

“No…” Shiro cut in. “They’re all over the place…”

Shiro went over to one of them and broke it, there was a bomb inside. Once he saw it the timer began to count down from ten seconds.

“Take cover!”

“Keith!”

Lance looked over at Keith, wanting to make sure he was safe, but before he could tell the bomb went off. After the first went off, many around went off as well. There was no escaping and anyone around just went flying. The boxes had been made of wood, so it was no surprise to notice they had splinters off all sizes sticking out of them.

Shiro was knocked unconscious, the closest to any explosive. His right hand was bleeding heavily. Lance had flown the farthest from the group, his body face down on the pavement, pieces of wood raining down on him.

Keith managed to get to cover behind one of the cement beams but that didn’t do much. He was thrown off his feet, getting cut and hit by anything around him that wasn’t glued to the ground. Every part of him hurt, well the parts he could feel. He pulled out a piece of wood from his leg and got on his knees.He crawled, reaching for his weapon, but he wasn’t the only one awake.

A few bullets flew past his head and he scrambled to cover, there was barely any left. He waited a moment and tried to return fire but his vision was fading in and out. He slowly stood, putting most of his weight on the leg that wasn’t bleeding. When he peered out from cover more bullets flew at him. 

Nothing hit him and he fired back, his vision slowly recovering. His eyes drifted to Lance, he was slowly waking up. After a moment Lance started screaming. He slowly got on his hands and knees and Keith noticed the blood dripping down from his face, from his eyes. A few pieces of debris had made it into his eyes. The noise brought attention to Lance and Keith saw someone approaching him, gun pointed at him.

“Lance!”

Keith cried out with a hoarse voice, stepping out of cover and shooting at the man who dared point a gun at Lance. His shot hit the man straight on the chest, but he still fired his weapon. It seemed harmless, but Keith suddenly felt a sting on his throat. He reached up and grabbed his neck, feeling the blood, the bullet had bounced off something and cut deep into his throat. He collapsed to his knees, his vision fading to black, he didn’t think he’d wake up.

**♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

“What do you mean we were set up, Keith?”

“The mission. Some highers ups in the CIA wanted to boost the bureaus reputation, figured what better way to do it than to save some people. They planned everything, some of the other agents actually orchestrated the kidnapping. It was supposed to be an easy rescue.”

“It sure as hell wasn’t, we almost died!”

“That’s the thing… we were supposed to.”

“What?”

“Think about, the CIA agents rescuing hostages, great, CIA agents dying in the line of duty… even better, but we didn’t die. Instead… you lost your fucken eyes and I lost my voice! Shiro lost his goddamn arm!”

“Keith calm down.”

“How? How can you say that? We were betrayed Lance, we trusted the bureau and they were going to kill us!”

“But we’re not dead! We lived!”

“Before we found our loophole did you really feel like we were living? It took you months to figure out how to walk around your own home. I couldn’t tell you how I felt or that I loved you with my own voice. We never left the house cause it’d be so much of a hassle. We’ve both had breakdowns back then too… when our disabilities just got to us. This was no accident, this was attempted murder.”

“Yeah… I… I know… I’m still trying to process this.” Lance sat down, tears building up in his eyes. “This would explain why the bureau didn’t really care about your resignation… you weren’t supposed to make it. How… how are we even alive?”

“Um… the report said… after the hostages were rescued our coms were jammed. Pidge caught onto that fast and knew something was wrong, called in backup. They were quick… dispatched before the higher ups could stop our rescue. The backup arrived right after the bombs went off, so we got rushed to a hospital quick enough that they could… help us.”

“So Pidge saved our lives… she was always the best.”

Keith sat down next to Lance. “I… this isn’t the best time but… Shiro’s target this whole time has been us. After what happened in Paris, the CIA managed to figure out who ordered the hit, Bushner, and who he hired, us, SNE. The bureau was quite interested in following the lead since they have nothing on us, but after the party, their leads gone cold.”

“So we covered our own asses without even knowing it. I really do like our little logo, the emoji face with crossed out eyes and mouth, doubt anyone really understands it.”

“There’s no reason for anyone to.”

“I don’t know what to do with this… new information.”

“Me neither.” Keith laid back. “We can just think it over, figure out where to go from here, together.”

“Yeah.” Lance grabbed Keith’s hand. “Keep an eye on the CIA’s investigation on us. I don’t want any surprises, and keep an eye on our old teams activities. I don’t want our paths crossing anytime soon.”

“Yes sir.”


	6. Chapter 6

Despite a new truth at the front of the boys minds they went about their lives like normal. They stopped talking to Shiro, not sure how to deal with him. He probably didn’t even know they were set up but he was still with the bureau, and hunting them. For the time being he and the rest of his team could not be trusted.

    They couldn’t just let what happened to them slide so Keith got his hand on the list of the other agents who had taken part in the mission, selling their identities and locations on the darkweb. He kept tabs on a few, learning of their demise. Eventually though, Lance suggested giving up their own team as well, most were new and he didn’t care much. It would keep them from focusing on the boys.

    After two months Lance had been hired for a show. At first he wanted to turn it down but Keith convinced him to perform, saying they both needed to get out of the house. Lance agreed, and they headed out. The night of the event, the boys ran into someone.

“My apologies, I believe my handler-” Lance was saying but got cut off.

“It’s me Lance, Shiro.”

“Oh… what are you doing here?”

“You know I can’t-”

“Yeah, you could have lied you know, just cause I know what you doesn’t mean I wouldn’t understand you lying to me. I’m a civilian now.”

“Good point. So, how have you been?”

“Fine, and you?”

“For the most, well, but there has been some trouble.”

“I hope it’s all-” Keith tugged on Lance’s arm. “Right, sorry Shiro but I need to get ready for the show. Do enjoy yourself.”

When they got to the back Lance made sure no one was around to hear them.

“How is he here? Did you not know?”

“Ever since we’ve sold some info the team has gone quiet. I have no idea what they’re up to. So I have no idea what he’s doing here.”

“It could just be a coincidence, but I doubt that.”

“We haven’t done anything, and we’re not here on a job, so I doubt they’re working a lead on us.”

“Ugh, I still don’t like it.”

“Well you can’t cancel. Just go out there an enjoy yourself, then I you can make an excuse and we can leave immediately.”

“Sounds good, stay out of trouble.”

“Will do.”

Lance prepared then went up on stage. He was just about to start playing when gunfire was heard. Everyone started screaming. Keith ran on stage getting in front of Lance. Five masked men had entered the venue. They told everyone to get on their knees, Keith tried to get Lance off stage but they shot near him, he stopped.

One guy came up and knocked Keith out, taking Lance hostage. Lance felt strange once that happened, his world completely black. It had been so long since he actually lost his vision, he could always see. He hated being a hostage, gun to his head. He could absolutely get himself out of this situation but at the moment it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Suddenly there was more screaming. He heard Keith waking up, despite that his vision remained dark. At best he could make out a few figures moving but then he realized what was going on. Someone cut the power and the room was dark, now he could act. He flipped the man that had been holding him hostage, disarming him and breaking his arm. He then grabbed Keith and carefully made his way to the back. He stumbled around a lot and hit a few walls, unsure of where he was going.

“Keith, come on, wake up please, I need my eyes.”

“What happened…”

“Got knocked out trying to protect me.”

“Failed then…”

“You did just fine, we need to get somewhere safe. If the CIA wasn’t here you could beat the shit out of those thugs.”

“I know… there’s a closet near the back.”

Keith managed to stand, getting himself and Lance into a janitor’s closet. He sat down, his head still spinning.

“You’re okay right?” Keith asked.

“Yes. Some asshole grabbed me and held me at gunpoint.”

“Wait, you got yourself out, did-”

“No, the lights went out, lucky me.”

“Very.”

“With that in mind we gotta get our story straight.”

Keith chuckled. “What’s the story then.”

“You woke up in the dark and helped me, then brought me back here.”

“Easy enough.”

Lance leaned against Keith.

“You know… I enjoyed fighting. I feel like a superhero when I fight.”

“You are quite incredible.”

The door suddenly opened, Keith pulled out his gun but quickly lowered it, realizing it was Shiro.

“You guys are okay, good.”

“Is everything okay?” Lance asked.

“For now. Come on.” 

Shiro helped them out of the room and back out to the main area. The men were knocked out and tied up. The host of the party rushed over to the boys.

“Mr. McClain, I am so sorry for this. I shall double your payment.”

“No, don’t be silly, I barely performed. Keep your money and use it to help the others. Keith, let's go.”

“Wait.” Shiro said. “We need-”

“Shiro, we can’t give you a statement or anything. I can’t see and Keith was knocked out for most of time.”

“I… well how did you get-”

“Keith woke up, apparently there was a blackout and he took advantage of the situation and rescued me. Pathetic.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, it’s not… we’re leaving.” 

Keith nodded and walked past Shiro. He knew that last comment stung but wouldn’t mention it till they were home. He had been hoping tonight would help them both get out of their funk but if anything it only made things worse.

**♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

After the disaster of last time they decided on a longer vacation. They spent a month in Australia, enjoying the sights and sun. They were by the beach and Lance asked Keith to get them some drinks. He went off to the nearby bar, someone approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.He reacted defensively, grabbing whoever had touched him and flipping them on the ground.

“Glad to know you can handle yourself.”

Keith had Shiro pinned down, some people around staring. He let Shiro go and stood up, he didn’t have his talking device so he shrugged at Shiro. Shiro noticed and asked the bartender for some paper and a pen.

“What do you want.” Keith wrote.

“I just want to talk. I can tell you and Lance aren’t talking to me. The last few times we’ve interacted things haven’t been so good.”

“Please get to your point Lance is waiting for me and drinks.”

“Got it, he doesn’t need to know anything, you just take care of him.”

“The point!”

“Sorry. A lot of our agents have been attacked recently, many are dead now. It’s clear there’s been some information leak in the bureau.”

“I’m retired.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be a target, especially since Lance is celebrity. Just watch your back.”

“Will do, and take care of yourself.”

“Thanks.”

“Question.”

“What?”

“How did you find us?”

“Um… social media. People have been posting pictures of Lance, like selfies and sightings so I just followed that. Which means you do need to be careful.”

“Thanks for the heads up.”

“No problem, when the situation changes I’ll find you.”

Keith rolled his eyes and grabbed the drinks going over to Lance and apologizing for the wait. He saw the whole thing and Keith then explained what they had discussed.

“Well, good to know karma is going around.” Lance took a sip of his drink. “What info does the CIA have on us? Now anyway, since we are civilians.” 

“Just our names, list of missions, why we retired.”

“Do they know where we live?”

“No, put false info under that category.”

“Good.”

**♦♦** ♥ **♦♦**

The boys stuck around for a few more days before deciding it was best to go home. It was a smooth trip and they were unpacking at home when the alarms went off. Their little island had pretty heavy security. If anything foreign approached the island alarms would go off and defense systems would be activated. 

    They heard an explosion, going over to the security room and seeing the debris falling down in the south area. Keith activated the sprinkler system to prevent the fire from spreading. Setting the cameras nearby on high alert and to search for anything that moves.

“I’ll go check the area once the fire goes down.” Keith said.

“I don’t like that we were followed. Guess Shiro had a point about being tracked via social media.”

“There’s no reason for us to be a target though.”

“Maybe a crazy fan.”

“That we just killed.”

“This is private property, besides, not like we’d go to jail anyway. Come on, we still gotta finish unpacking and find places for our souvenirs.” 

“Coming.”

They head out of the security room and hear noises, someone was in the house. Keith opened up a hidden panel and handed Lance a pistol, grabbing one for himself. They slowly approached and busted into the room. No one fired, but it grew very quiet. Keith glared at the intruder, Shiro.

“What’s going on?” 

“You tell me.” Shiro said. “I have questions, so you’re coming with me.”

“Shiro?” Lance lowered his weapon. “What is this?”

“I’m not sure myself, but lately I’ve had a lot of time to put the pieces together.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You. Back in Paris you were a last minute guest at the gala. Around that time our intel told us Roman Bushner hired someone to kill the politician we were running security on.”

“I don’t-”

“Bushner hired SNE.”

“And you think… you think we killed him?”

“I know, ridiculous right? But then I noticed that quiet a few of your shows coincided with murders committed by SNE. Then I looked over your travel history, some of those vacation trips end up near another murder. That’s too many coincidences to not be relate.”

“So what? I’m not blind? So the doctors who spent hours in surgery removing debris from my eyes lied to you? The CIA just let me go cause their racist or something?”

“No one would ever suspect the blind guy. At first I thought it was only Keith who was doing the killing, but there were moments when you did things that shouldn’t be possible. Despite being blind you never use a cane. I remember seeing you grab your drink at gala with such ease, as if you could see. And just now, you were pointing a gun at me with perfect aim.”

“That doesn’t prove anything. You’ve gone crazy Shiro.”

“I believe that. So many agents have been hunted down lately. Lotor’s dead, Allura’s in intensive care, Matt and Pidge haven’t been seen in months now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that but this theory of-”

“Pidge found out bug in the bureau’s system, it got in there the day Bushner died, at that party. It could have been anyone but then you take into account that she found out SNE was selling the information on the dark web, and you remember that you guys were there, that Lance was there when an impossible murder happened.”

“Shiro you’re-”

“Don’t lie to me! Too many things add up, you live on a fucken island! You’re good Lance, but there’s no way your career alone could pay for something like this.”

“So you’re just going to arrest us? Tell your superiors this ridiculous story?”

“The evidence is all there. Maybe they won’t believe it’s you Lance, but they’ll believe it’s Keith.”

“You son of a bitch!”

Lance fired at Shiro’s leg and ran towards him. He kneed him in his stomach and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

“You come to my house and start threatening me and my boyfriend, I won’t tolerate that.”

Keith rushed over and pulled Lance away. Any chance of getting Shiro to drop his theory was now gone. Shiro grabbed his leg, dragging himself away.

“So you can see then?”

“No, no I can’t see shit with my own eyes, but I have other ways.” 

Before Lance could fire again Keith grabbed his arm.

“Can you really do this?” He blinked. “He was our friend once.”

“He knows too much, and I’ve had enough of his shit.”

Suddenly there was a crash from another room. 

“Who did you bring with you?” Lance asked.

“No one.”

“Bullshit, I doubt you survived the plane crash all on your own.”

“Plane crash?”

“Yeah, you flew here.”

“No. I stowed away on your plane.”

“What? Then who-”

The doors opened and two men came in, shooting. Keith got Lance and himself into cover. Shiro dragged himself to safety, taking a few shots. 

“Great, this wouldn’t be a problem if Shiro hadn’t been distracting us. You deal with this.”

Keith took a quick peak, Lance giving him directions then he jumped out of cover and fired. He killed one of the guys and took down the other, gun at his head. Lance got up and made his way over to Shiro. He kicked him and grabbed his gun, putting it on a table. Then he made his way over to Keith.

“Who are you and how did you get here?”

“We don’t want trouble.”

“You came in here shooting us.”

“We were after the other guy! White hair, bastards one of those spies.”

“Oh, you’re like some bounty hunter or whatever.”

“It’s just a job man… you’re in the way.”

“Who hired you?”

“Don’t have a name, just a number.”

“Call them, now.”

“Yeah, yeah okay.”

The guy gets his phone and dials a number, once it starts ringing Lance shoots him and grabs the phone. After the second ring there was an answer.

“Is it done.”

“No, no you hired the wrong people.”

“What? Who are you?”

“The people you should have hired to kill that CIA agent, seriously, these amateurs of yours are dead.” Lance takes pictures and sends them. “But don’t worry, I’ll gladly finish the job for you, just double what you paid them.”

“You’re fucken lying, you just want the money.”

“Yes I do.” 

Keith drags Shiro over to them despite his protests. Lance takes a picture of him and sends it.

“As you can see the man you want dead is still breathing, pay up or he walks free.”

“Lance… are you-”

Keith punched Shiro.

“Do we have a deal?”

“Account number.”

“Wonderful.”

Lance went over and grabbed the laptop on the table, giving the numbers and waiting to see the money.

“Why… I can understand you being guns for hire, you have the skills. It’s impressive you managed to keep active despite your condition.” Shiro said.

“I’m like DareDevil.” Lance said.

“But why… why attack the CIA?”

“You really don’t know then.”

“Know what?”

“We were set up. Our last mission together, it was too easy. One of the hostages just happened to have a tracker on them. We faced little resistance in completing our rescue but once the hostages were safe an insane wave of hostiles came after us. We were corned with a crystal clear path back into the building. Then we found explosives, enough to take down the building. We’re lucky to be alive, but we weren’t supposed to survive.”

“What?”

“Yeah, the bureau wanted a reputation boost, so why not fake a rescue mission and have agents die in the field. It would make a hell of a story, but instead… they ruined my life.”

“Lance… that’s not-”

“What? It’s not what? A good enough reason to ruin the CIA? Bullshit, I’m done following rules or protocol or whatever. I can do whatever I want, and now, I’m getting paid for taking you out.”

“Lance-”

“Bad choice of last words actually.”

Lance fired his gun. He sighed, taking a picture and sitting down.

“Just another payday then.” Keith said.

“Pretty much.”

“You know… most of the agent who were part of the mission are dead, but the higher ups… not so much.”

“What are you saying?”

“Maybe… we finish this ourselves, and actually get some closure over what happened to us.”

“Then what?”

“You called me your boyfriend earlier… maybe we need to change that.”

Lance smiled. “It’s about time.”

“Really? Well, I don’t have a ring on me.”

“You can properly propose later, after everyone on that mission file is six feet under.”

“Got it.”

“So… the house is compromised.”

“Yeah, good thing I’ve been working on something.”

“Which is?”

“Figure we’d like a vacation house elsewhere. Had if built to be an exact replica of this one so you wouldn’t have trouble moving around. Guess it’s our new home.”

“Then we need to start packing.” Lance pulled Keith close and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the end. I'm not super creative enough to keep going with something like this so I leave it opened ended for the readers to decide what the boys do next. I never did say what SNE stands for. So it's just their code name but it does stand for something no one knows, its ironic actually. Their like logo is a yellow emoji face with an x over the eyes and mouth, and SNE stands for See No Evil, Speak No Evil, just a fun fact for you guys. I hope you enjoyed the story.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fun little idea that came to me and wanted to see if anyone out there would be interested in more, hope you like.


End file.
